


It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

by RensSaxophone



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:41:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25446283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RensSaxophone/pseuds/RensSaxophone
Summary: It's a robot ficwarning ; experiments, injury, pain
Relationships: Ichinose Tokiya/Jinguuji Ren/Kurosaki Ranmaru
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Tokiya was tearing the room apart, not worried about being quiet. 

Tokiya had spent nights in a row, experimenting with Ren and Ranmaru. When they were asleep, normal noises wouldn’t wake them up. If it sounded like Tokiya were in danger, or in pain, they’d wake up- or if he touched them in a way clearly meant to wake them, that would get them up, too. Or if he unplugged them from their chargers. Otherwise, they’d stay asleep, and that worked well for Tokiya as he planned his escape. 

He had been stuck in this room for a long time. He could only guess months, but the passage of time in this windowless room meant nothing. 

_Tokiya should be dead. He should have died- he **was** dying. And yet, here he was, waking up in an unfamiliar room. The bed was large, and the walls were a stark hospital white. It took a mere minute to take in everything that the room had to offer. There was a TV across the wall, connected to what seemed to be a DVD player. There was a coffee table with a remote, and an unassuming couch. Next to another wall was a bookshelf, with various DVDs and reading materials. There’s a room, the door ajar enough to show that it’s a simple bathroom, and there’s a table with three chairs, along with his bed. There are some cables that remind him of a phone charger, but there aren’t any phones in the room. On the last wall, there’s a door with no doorknob- only what seems to be a hand print reader, and the last thing in the room is a metal tray, on the floor in front of the door. On the tray are two spheres- a deep red one and an orange one. On the top of them there seems to be a button. Tokiya gets out of the bed, though he doesn’t expect to be able to- and he’s surprised at how easy it is to stand. He had been very, very sick for a long time, and he couldn’t comprehend how he wasn’t in pain, or just as sick as he had been. In fact, he felt fine. It was bizarre._

_He slowly makes his way to the spheres, which just look like metallic balls, about the size of a baseball. He crouches down next to the orange one, and he cautiously presses the button. He falls back when a man materializes in front of him, scrambling back, his expression terrified._

_The man had orange hair- the color of a sunset, and striking blue eyes. He was tanned, much more so than Tokiya, but despite having emerged from a metal ball, there’s nothing that seems unhuman about him. At first, his expression seems blank, but when his eyes land on Tokiya, there seems to be some understanding, and an almost fond expression crosses his face, and he smiles. “Tokiya.” The way he says the name is almost like he’s testing it out. “I’m Ren.”_

_Tokiya doesn’t stop crawling back until he’s pressed against the opposite wall, but Ren doesn’t approach him, noticing his fear. Tokiya swallows hard, pushing himself up the wall. He can’t quite mask how scared he is, but he tries, his hands shaking at his sides despite how hard he’s tightened them into fists. “Where am I?” He demands._

_“You’re at a special, safe facility.” Ren explains. “You’re here for me to keep you safe.” Ren glances down, at the second metal ball, the red one. “For us.” He corrects._

_“Safe from what?”_

_“From the outside.” Ren doesn’t seem to mind explaining. Almost as if he expected that he’d need to._

_“What are you talking about?” Tokiya snaps. “I demand to be let out.”_

_“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Ren looks genuinely apologetic, but in Tokiya’s fear and anger, he mistakes the expression. It seems insincere to him. “The safest place for you is this room.”_

_“This is kidnapping.”_

_Ren winces. “Please don’t think of it like that. My intentions are purely to keep you safe.”_

_“You keep saying that, but I don’t want you to.” Tokiya scowls, the anger starting to become stronger than the fear. “If you’re going to keep repeating yourself, you may as well as go back into the ball.”_

_Ren’s face looks almost a bit hurt- and while he certainly doesn’t look willing, he dematerializes, returning to the orange ball, and Tokiya is almost surprised that it worked._

_He’d give it a very long moment, choosing to explore the rest of the room and finding that there isn’t much more to it than what he had seen. The reading materials don’t seem particularly interesting or helpful- perhaps he’d read them when he really had nothing else to do, but he was far too stressed to even read right now._

_Eventually, he’d give in, and he’d head to the maroon colored ball. The orange one, Ren, hadn’t been very helpful, but maybe, with any luck, this one would be. Tokiya doubted it._

_He’s less afraid this time, when the man appears after Tokiya presses the button, but Tokiya still takes a few cautious steps back._

_This man has grey hair, fluffed up in unnatural spikes, and he has different colored eyes. He’s pale, even paler than Tokiya. Similar to Ren, his expression is very blank at first, until his mismatched eyes finally settle on Tokiya and his expression becomes much more intense. He doesn’t actually speak- choosing to instead stare._

_“I want to be let out.” Tokiya skips over pleasantries. What did it matter if he knew this man’s name? Especially if he could demand his way out of this room._

_“That’s not happenin’.” The man says flatly, crossing his arms. “You’re stayin’ in here.”_

_“What have I done?” Tokiya’s voice is cold. “To be forcibly kept here?”_

_The man’s eyebrows furrow. “‘S not your fault. ‘M just tryin’ ‘t keep you safe.”_

_“You’re not.” Tokiya reminds, aggravated. “You’re keeping me imprisoned against my will.”_

_The man sighs, dragging his hand down his face, and his expression looks tired. “‘M not tryin’ ‘t do that, but ya can’t leave. It’s not safe outside ‘a this place, ‘n the safest place fer you is this room.”_

_Tokiya’s expression hardens. “You’re just as unhelpful as the other one.” He says sourly. “You may as well as go back into your ball, too.”_

_The man’s eyes narrow, and while he looks just as unwilling as Ren had- he listens, too._

Tokiya makes his way to the bed, and he gently shakes Ranmaru’s shoulder. “Hey, Ran.” His face is grim, but Ranmaru rouses, blinking. He ends up sitting up, fumbling with the charger plugged into his wrist. 

“Toki?” His voice is almost a bit groggy in an imitation of sleep. “What’s wrong?” He’s sobering quickly as his eyes focus on Tokiya’s face. 

Tokiya’s hand runs through Ranmaru’s hair. “I’m sorry-” Ranmaru’s face immediately turns distrustful, but Tokiya speaks too quickly. “I want you to go back into your ball.” Ranmaru looks pissed- but Tokiya had learned some time ago that in most situations, they can’t deny that order. Tokiya lifts Ranmaru, and he slips him into his makeshift bag. Ranmaru’s absence might end up being suspicious enough, but if Ren saw Ranmaru’s sphere, he’d find a way to keep Tokiya from giving him the order. 

“Ren, darling, wake up.” Tokiya takes Ren’s hand, to squeeze it, and Ren blinks himself awake. Similar to Ranmaru, he unplugs himself as he sits up. 

“Did something happen?” Ren’s worry is fast. Tokiya kisses Ren’s forehead when he’s sitting. 

“I’m sorry, but I need you to go into your ball.” Ren’s face is hurt- far more than it had been, the first time Tokiya had given the order. Ren can’t deny. He joins Ranmaru in Tokiya’s bag.

_Tokiya had eventually gotten hungry. He had eventually gotten hungry enough that he became desperate. Desperate enough to get Ren’s attention, and would have gotten Ren to bring him food._

_He learns, through time, that the other man’s name is Ranmaru._

_They spend quite a lot of time in their balls, at first- but they’re slowly let out for short periods of time. Tokiya doesn’t bring up leaving to them because he gets frustrated easily when he does. But then there was a day when there was a knock on the door. Ren had placed his hand on the handprint reader, and the door had opened, and a man in a medical coat had spoken to Ren in a quiet voice._

_Tokiya hadn’t caught most of it, but Ren turns to go to Tokiya._

_“The doctor would like to check on you, Toki.” Tokiya hadn’t given Ren permission to nickname him, but Ren had anyways. “I’m to bring you to the medical room.”_

_Tokiya’s face turns distrustful, but Ren holds onto his arm. It’s gentle, but Tokiya doesn’t feel like he can escape it._

_Tokiya is led outside of the room, but Ren isn’t allowed to follow him in- and surprisingly, it makes Tokiya feel nervous._

_Tokiya ends up being strapped to a table, and he isn’t spoken to at all. His struggles are pointless and his pleas fall on deaf ears. It’s nothing compared to when they actually start- they _remove_ the skin and muscle and bone over his shoulder, completely disconnecting his arm to reconnect it, but they replace his shoulder with machines. A large metal plate where there should be skin, and he isn’t given any anesthetic. No painkiller, no relief. The pain keeps him aware and conscious. _

_When he’s brought back to his room, Ren seems concerned at his state of inconsolable panic, but through the haze of pain Tokiya hears the doctor explain that he was given medication that he had a bad reaction to. Ren is told to watch him, and to bring him back to them if he gets any worse._

_To Ren, Tokiya assumes it’s meant to be a reassurance, but to Tokiya it’s a threat. If Tokiya acts up, he’ll be brought back._

_And the worst part is that Tokiya doesn’t know if Ren actually knows. If Ren willingly brought him there to be tortured._

_So Tokiya keeps quiet._

Tokiya makes his way in front of the door, and he takes Ren’s sphere. He presses the button, which disorients Ren. Tokiya takes the few seconds he has, to grab Ren’s wrist and press it against the hand reader, and he covers Ren’s eyes before he does. As he kicks open the door, Tokiya is already speaking, holding Ren’s hand firmly in front of him. “Ren. Ball.”

Tokiya thinks that Ren’s eyes are narrowed in a glare- but he returns to the orange, metal ball. Tokiya picks it up to slip it back into his bag. They didn’t like to let him outside, and in the one or two times he had left they had both been with him. He never goes outside of the facility. They were both convinced that it was very, very dangerous and they’ve both made it clear that their purpose is to protect him. Tokiya still doesn’t believe them. But he knows that outside has to be safer than here.

Tokiya steps out. 

_It had taken less than a month for Tokiya to get lonely, to the point where he let Ren and Ranmaru walk freely around the room. Nearing three months in, he had found himself in a relationship with both of them._

_It started purely from loneliness. It was why he didn’t just leave them in their metal spheres- and then the relationship had come from the idea that he may be able to deceive them. An escape plan._

_Falling for them wasn’t part of his plan, but it still happened._

_The experiments didn’t stop. Tokiya’s leg up to his knee was no longer flesh, and the knee of his other leg was metal now, too. The worst, however, was his side- they had removed **organs** , and a large portion of his side, from his hip to mid-ribs, was a metal plate. He never told them. _

_It had started with distrust. Now, he couldn’t tell them because they either already knew and were letting it happen, or they **didn’t** know and he couldn’t bring himself to explore either option. But he was still hurt, and in pain, and he needed to get out. _

_Of course, he couldn’t leave them. He imagined that they’d get into trouble, if he left and they didn’t stop him._

_So he’d just have to bring them with him._

_The only thing that Tokiya had asked them to get him was a single sheet, claiming that it was because he felt that the room got too cold. Both men had given him a strange look, but it was a simple request and they’d fulfill it._

_Tokiya was glad- it was a blatant lie. After all, the bed was actually **too warm** , sleeping between two charging robots. Tokiya still slept with the sheet that night, to hammer his point home. _

_On the day he decides to leave, he fashions the sheet into a bag, good enough to carry them and their chargers, and some of the packaged food that he had hid and stashed during meals when Ren and Ranmaru weren’t looking at him. He had been quiet that day, but no amount of questions from either of them had gotten him to open up._

_There had, however, been one trick that Ren had showed Tokiya- a “gimmick”, according to Ranmaru, that Tokiya was soft for and Ren had pulled on Tokiya that night, when Tokiya was acting strange._

_Some time before, Ren had pulled off his shirt, grinning at Tokiya’s flustered confusion, that only grew when Ranmaru rolled his eyes. “Come here, Toki.” Tokiya does, a bit hesitantly, but Ren had taken his hand, raising it to press against Ren’s chest. Ren’s voice softens. “Ask me if I love you.”_

_Tokiya blinks, a bit surprised, but he somehow manages to form words. “Do- do you love me, Ren?”_

_Ren smiles, but Tokiya’s attention is drawn to his chest. An LED light, seemingly underneath the skin above Tokiya’s hand, had lit up in the shape of a small heart- the entirety of it filled pink._

_“That means I do.” Ren says, his smile turning into a grin. “It works on any of us robots.” Ren winks, but Tokiya can’t tell if it’s at him, or if it’s at Ranmaru behind him. “And I’m sure that if you got Ran out of his shirt, his heart meter would be just the same as mine.”_

_It was a cute memory, but sometimes, on days where Tokiya was irritated or upset, Ren pulled this. And, occasionally, Ranmaru would too-_

_That night, before they had gone to bed, Ren had been the one to pull it._

_Ren’s heart meter had been full._

Tokiya is stopped very quickly, by a tall, pale man with dark blue hair. The man, Masato, Tokiya remembers, from Ren’s introduction, had been heading into the room with his own human, but had been stopped by Tokiya’s escape, and his lack of robots. Masato stops trying to enter his human’s room, narrowing his eyes at Tokiya. 

Tokiya tries to straighten up, his jaw tightening. 

“And just what are you doing?” Masato’s voice is cautious. 

“I’m leaving.” Tokiya’s voice is quiet, but it’s firm. He knew, for a fact, that Masato was far stronger than Tokiya could ever hope to be- but he also knew for a fact that Masato didn’t care for _him_. The robots all seemed to know each other- but the robots only seemed to care for their own humans. 

“And what have Ren and Ranmaru said about this?”

“It doesn’t matter. Because I’m leaving.”

“Where are they?” Masato’s voice is stern. 

Tokiya’s jaw tightens, and then relaxes, and then tightens again. “They’re fine.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Masato’s eyes move to focus on the poorly made bag Tokiya had fashioned. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t take that bag and send you back to your room?”

Tokiya gets quiet for a very long moment, but when Masato steps closer to him, Tokiya’s answer comes quickly as he blurts it out. “They’re going to kill me.”

“Who?”

“The scientists.” Tokiya’s head hangs. He isn’t sure what the robots know- but he can’t imagine that this situation could get worse. If he doesn’t speak to Masato, he’ll be forced in his room, and Ren and Ranmaru will be on guard, and Tokiya will never get another opportunity. If Masato is on the side of the scientists, then Tokiya will be in a bad position, too. But the slim possibility that Masato will let him pass is enough to make Tokiya try. 

“You mean the doctors?” Masato’s dark eyebrows knit together.

“ _Scientists._ ” Tokiya’s voice holds more bitterness than he expected it to. “They do experiments. Cruel, horrific, painful experiments. They aren’t helping anyone in this building.”

“What are you talking about, experiments?” 

Tokiya’s expression darkens, and he swallows hard. His hand moves to the bottom of his shirt, and he pulls it up on one side, enough to reveal most of the metal plating. “This isn’t all.” Tokiya’s voice is hardly audible. “But this is the worst of it.”

“My God.” Masato’s voice is soft, but it’s horrified. “I-” Masato glances around himself. “Come with me. For just a moment. I… I can help. But if you stay in the hallway, you’re bound to be caught.”

“Thank you.” Tokiya’s voice breaks. Masato’s reaction seemed genuine- so Tokiya is praying that Masato is telling him the truth. Tokiya follows Masato into the room with Masato’s human, shutting the door behind them. There are two men in this room. 

Tokiya can immediately tell which man is the human- a blonde, dignified seeming man wearing the same white, loose shirt and grey sweatpants that Tokiya is wearing. The human has a cold expression on his face, sitting cross legged on his bed. The other man is sitting in one of the chairs at the dining table, facing the bed. His expression seems softer- friendlier. He has wavy brown hair and wide, grey eyes- and he smiles at Tokiya without even bothering to ask why Masato has brought him in there. His expression changes, becoming confused when he takes in Masato’s panic. Masato makes his way immediately to the human, holding onto the man’s arms with a pale, serious expression. “Camus.” Masato’s voice is quiet. “Have any of the doctors done anything to you? Any type of…” Masato glances back at Tokiya, and then back to the man- Camus. “Experiments?” 

“What?” Camus glances over Masato’s shoulder, to Tokiya, and then back to Masato’s face. “No.”

Masato sighs in relief, and Tokiya can see his fingers flex as he squeezes Camus’ arm. 

“Masa?” The other robot tilts his head, but after just a second he stands, to place a hand on Masato’s shoulder, getting Masato to straighten up. His voice is questioning, 

Masato’s expression is still grim. “I’ve been led to believe that there are practices here that I don’t think _any_ of us would agree with. It was Tokiya, yes?” Masato’s head turns, but before Tokiya can even nod, Masato continues. “Lift your shirt.” As Masato gives the command, he shifts, to block Camus’ direct line of sight to Tokiya. Tokiya obliges, lifting it no more than he had the first time. 

The second robot seems shocked into silence. 

Masato moves to place himself in front of Tokiya as Tokiya lets his shirt fall and Masato’s eyes narrow at Tokiya. “Before I help you- I need you to tell me directly what exactly you’ve done with your robots.”

“I’d never hurt them.” Tokiya snaps. He’s not sure if his aggression is coming from his situation, from Masato’s implication, or from Tokiya’s own uncertainty with how he really did handle the situation. Especially if the robots weren’t aware of the experiments. Tokiya hesitates for a second, but then he shifts his bag, opening it enough to show Masato the two small spheres, held in place in the bag among a bed of wires. Masato doesn’t seem much happier when he finds out. 

“And just _why_ are they in default mode?”

“With all due respect, I know what I’m doing.” Tokiya says stiffly. “If you won’t help me, that’s fine, but I have no intention of letting anything happen to either of them.”

“I do not, for a moment, believe that you have any idea what you’re doing.” Masato’s voice holds cold anger. “But for their sake, I’ll help you. But we need to leave _now_. Camus,” Masato’s head turns. It’s hard to see it on Camus’ face, but the second robot seems shocked at Masato’s behavior. “You are going to stay between me and Reiji, and you are going to _listen_ to us. No matter what happens.”

Camus doesn’t respond, but Masato accepts his silence. 

Masato’s attention turns to Tokiya, though his voice is still cold. Scolding. “You’d better hope that you really do have any sort of idea about what you’re really doing. This isn’t going to be as simple as just waltzing out the doors, and _you_ refuse to have either of your robots escort you.”

“I’ll manage.” Tokiya says shortly.

When Masato opens the room to his door, the second robot, Reiji, becomes serious. Tokiya has the feeling that Reiji normally isn’t as quiet as he is- just a wild guess, he supposes, but Reiji’s friendly look has been replaced with a solemn one. Camus is put between Masato and Reiji, and Tokiya is left to trail nearby. Tokiya’s hand drops into his bag for a short second, brushing over his partner’s spheres to reassure himself, but his hand jerks away from them when he’s shocked. His eyebrows furrow as he idly rubs his hand. 

He’s not left to wonder long about the shock, because they’re finally surrounded as they’re near the door. It is, in theory, a simple dash out of the doors, but it’s proving to be more difficult with the surrounding guard robots surrounding the group. 

Tokiya is the last one to actually get out, and he barely makes it- and admittedly, not uninjured. They had been firing with bullets of energy, designed to knock out robots and hurt humans. The bullet had hit skin, but because it was just underneath Tokiya’s replacement shoulder, he couldn’t move his arm at all, though every useless twitch had _hurt_. He just grit his teeth and pushed through it. The other robots, Reiji and Masato, either didn’t notice, or didn’t care. Tokiya didn’t blame them. They seemed preoccupied with their human. 

Tokiya realizes that his entire escape plan could have been made easier, had he been willing to get Ren or Ranmaru’s help- but he reassures himself with the thought that he’s outside now.

“Wait!” Tokiya’s voice comes out strained, as the scenery around him hits him. “I recognize where we are. I think I know somewhere we can go.” 

It was true. Tokiya recognizes this area- because he had lived near it when he was a child. He, and everyone else in the town, had moved far away because of a military demand, claiming that the air wasn’t safe. Tokiya wonders if this establishment was the real reason. So that people in the town weren’t suspicious. 

Tokiya had never seen any technology as advanced as Ren or Ranmaru. Or as Masato and Reiji, either. 

“Perfect! Lead the way!” Reiji encourages. 

Masato gives Tokiya a wary look. Tokiya does lead, taking the front of the group, heading towards his own childhood home. It was a bit too close for comfort, but none of the robots had followed them out. Thinking about it, Masato looked nervous, under the layer of anger that was seemingly directed at Tokiya. Even Reiji seemed to be hanging too close to Camus- just a bit of an almost hidden edge to his expression. 

As Tokiya walks, Masato makes his way to Tokiya, his voice strained. “You were shot, yes?”

“How did you…?” 

“Your shirt is stained with blood.” Masato’s next words come carefully. “It’s… awfully painful, isn’t it?”

“I’ll live.” Tokiya says dryly. “It’s just my arm.”

Masato makes a frustrated noise, and Tokiya’s eyebrows lower, a bit irritated. 

“All I’ve done so far is convince you to take… Camus? _Your_ human out of a dangerous situation. Why are you giving me so much attitude?”

Masato’s eyes narrow, and then he glances at Reiji and Camus, still in ear shot. Masato’s response comes out cold. “When we get to where you’re taking us, I’ll tell you.”

Tokiya huffs, but he still continues walking. It’s less than ten minutes away- and delightfully, Tokiya finds that it’s close enough to the facility to still be supplied with power. Good. Tokiya would still be able to charge Ren and Ranmaru, then. And there were three rooms in the house- so Tokiya wouldn’t be forced to stay close to the others. 

“Take Camus to a room, will you, Reiji? I believe Tokiya and I have things to talk about, and Camus hasn’t been feeling well as it is.”

Camus clicks his tongue. “I’m right here.”

“Then Camus, take Reiji to a room. My point stands.” 

Reiji gives a chuckle that sounds nervous. “It’s alright! Come on, Camyu, let’s just go check upstairs!”

Camus grumbles, but he follows. Tokiya wasn’t familiar with Masato, but he imagined that Masato must be acting strange, to get reactions like this from the others. Tokiya can only assume that they’re partners as well- but it’s just an assumption. 

“Are you aware of what most robots feel about default mode?”

So this is what that’s about. Tokiya’s jaw tightens. “I know that they don’t like it when I order them to return to it.”

“Both of them are _aware_ you know.” Masato’s voice has a venom to it. “Everything that you’ve told us? Everything that you’ve gone through? They can _hear_ it.” Tokiya’s shock doesn’t stop Masato’s lecture. “They just know that you’re in _danger_ , and that you’ve been hiding something as horrific as this. They know they’re _outside_ , and they’ve _heard_ the shooting, you know. I’ve no idea what you think you know, but I can tell you for sure that if they care for you the way I imagine they must, they must be so… _scared_.” Masato’s voice cracks on his last word, but he clears his throat, trying to get himself together. “So for _their_ sake, I wish you’d consider releasing them. If you think you’re protecting them, I promise that you’re not. The weakest among the three of you is _you_ , Tokiya. They are designed protectors. They’re _trained_ for physical situations, and they are not nearly as fragile as you may delude yourself into believing.” Masato gives an aggravated huff. “I should just turn them back myself, but I won’t. I just hope that you make the right decision.” Masato gives Tokiya a long look, and then his voice becomes stiffer. “Now. I’m going to go check on my group. ...I hope to see Ren and Ranmaru soon, Tokiya.”

Tokiya stays silent as Masato leaves. Tokiya stands in place for a long moment, and then finally heads upstairs. At first, he heads to his childhood room, but he quickly realizes that Reiji, Camus and Masato had chosen that room, so he backtracks and he heads to his mother’s old room, closing and locking the door. 

The first thing that he does is plug in both of the chargers into the wall. If Ren and Ranmaru are still technically active, it would still be helpful to charge them- not to mention that they probably weren’t fully charged from last night. He’s gentle when he takes them out of his bag, setting them onto the bed before climbing onto it, watching them. He gently picks Ren up, cradling him in his hands. 

“I’m sorry.” Tokiya’s voice is quiet. “I had no idea that you both were still aware, or I would have gone about this in a much different way.” He’s a bit surprised, when he feels a short, muted buzz from the ball in his hands, but it hits him hard, his throat already feeling closed off. “I know you’re angry.” Tokiya’s voice breaks, but he holds Ren closer to his chest. “I’m sorry. That’s not enough, but I am.”

The change is gradual, but Tokiya begins to feel Ren heat up in his hands, until Ren becomes too hot for Tokiya to properly hold, and Tokiya nearly drops him onto the bed, catching and turning him just in time- but Tokiya understands what Ren had been trying to do. Had Tokiya dropped him and he had landed onto the button, Ren would have been forcibly released. Tokiya sighs, frowning, but he takes the charger, touching Ren only with his fingertips, just to get Ren charging. 

Tokiya picks up Ranmaru next. Ranmaru immediately starts an angry buzzing, but Tokiya had expected something along those lines, so Ranmaru stays firmly in Tokiya’s grip. What Tokiya _hadn’t_ expected was the sharp shock he had gotten, and Tokiya huffs, managing to hold onto Ranmaru, but lowering him back to the bed. “Well… I guess you’ve heard exactly what I said anyways. It applies to you just as much, Ran. I’m sorry. ...And I’m more sorry to tell you that I’m… not going to release you. Not now. Not yet.” Tokiya’s bottom lip trembles, especially when he hears the soft, sad buzzing from Ren. Tokiya moves to plug in Ranmaru as he tries to hold in his tears. “...I’m scared.” Tokiya admits quietly. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m afraid of your reactions when I do release you. I don’t have any plans. I just… I needed to get out. I wasn’t sure what you both knew, and I couldn’t handle it, if you knew more than you both let on, and were just… letting it happen.” Tokiya’s fingers brush over Ranmaru, and he seems to take a lesson from Ren, his next buzz coming much softer. Tokiya raises Ranmaru with shaking hands, pressing his lips against the cool metal for a short second before lowering Ranmaru down. “I’ll be back.” Tokiya promises quietly. “I’ll still be in the room. I… I think we’re in a safe location.”

Tokiya goes into the bathroom- but after a moment he backtracks. 

“I’m… taking you with me. I don’t like leaving you out of my sight.” Tokiya admits quietly. He unplugs them, and lifts them both, and his scolding comes out weak. “No burning or shocking me, either. I know what you’re trying to do but I really don’t want to drop or hurt you.” Ren lets out another soft buzz, and Ranmaru lets out a harsher one, but Tokiya gets them into the bathroom and on the counter. 

He needs to remove the bullet. 

Tokiya takes out the age-old medicinal kit his mother had stored in her bathroom, and her very old pair of tweezers. His arm had begun to work again, thankfully, but it still _hurt_ , and he was still bleeding. 

As Tokiya removes the bullet, he talks. His voice is still pained, and his pitch changes as he talks, but it distracts him. “I’m at my childhood home. I used to live here, just outside of the - ah, damnitt! I… God, I uh… I used to live outside of whatever facility we were in. Supposedly there was some sort of radiation or pollution? I was only… ouch! Damn…. I was… I think I was around ten or eleven when we had to leave. They evacuated all of us, too. Anyone in the area, and everyone just… believed them. But I think it’s all… oof… all… all a lie. I think it’s so that no one would catch onto whatever they’re doing in that facility. All of the robots, and experiments, and -” The bloody tweezers fall from Tokiya’s grip. “Oh… Oh God, what if-” Tokiya’s voice trembles. “...God, I hope they built you two as robots. I hope that you’ve only ever been robots. Please- I… I hope you were never human.” Tokiya wonders if they were trying to turn him into a robot. Tokiya wonders if Ren and Ranmaru went through what he did. The thought is the first one that gets a sob from him. He has to take in a shaky, uneven breath, swallowing audibly. He finally gets himself together enough to grab the needle and thread from the kit. Luckily, his mother was a paranoid woman. “I… okay… I… where was I, again? Ah… yes, well… everyone left, and um… damn it… string together already... why are knots so difficult? Ah, yes, but I left. My mother and I left. My father disappeared sometime during the evacuation, and I never did learn exactly where he went- but oohhh…. _Damn that hurts-_ but… but after that, I lived with my mother somewhere far away from here until I was seventeen, and then I lived by myself. And then I got really sick. I spent… at least a year in the hospital. It’s… almost fuzzy, just what I was dying from… I just… ah! I… shit… okay… Jesus…” Tokiya’s head falls back, but he’s finally done sewing the wound together. The bandages would sting, but they wouldn’t be nearly as bad. “But it was some type of disease… cancer, maybe. I think it affected my lungs. I remember how hard to breathe it was, back then. I died, I’m sure of it. I think I was dead. If I wasn’t, I should have been. And then I woke up in that godforsaken room, and I wish I had died. Honestly- if it weren’t for the both of you, I’d believe I was in hell. But hell has no silver linings, and you two are a damn good one. Ah, finally done. Thank God.” Tokiya sighs, as he begins to clean up his mess with shaky hands. “I don’t know what’s wrong with that facility, but it’s not right. I don’t know what they’ve told you, but I’m positive they’re wrong. But I don’t plan to release either of you until I’ve found my way out of this town and far away from this facility. I’m well aware neither of you like that idea… and if you don’t want anything to do with me, when I let you out… I understand. ...It’s going to hurt, of course, but I understand if you can’t forgive me for this. But you’re both going to be in a safe place. You’ll be able to leave, knowing that I haven’t condemned myself to death- and you can leave and live a real life. Not one with whatever lies they’ve been feeding you for however long they have been. ...But I… I need a day or so. And then I’ll leave. I’ll find you somewhere safe. I promise.” 

Tokiya picks them both up, to return them to the bed. He plugs them back in, and places them carefully in the corner of the bed so that he can curl around them protectively. 

It’s only the next day that Tokiya tries to get out of his bed and realizes that his leg won’t work from the knee down- the leg that had been completely replaced below his knee. The machinery won’t function, and it sends him to the floor, hard enough to ache. 

The rest of the machinery follows quickly. His shoulder gives out next, as he tries to reach for his leg and realizes that he _can’t_. His knee and everything below it are the next to give out, and Tokiya feels an overwhelming sense of fear. 

There wasn’t much one working arm could do- and what would he do about the last bit of the machinery, that he was sure would give out.

At first, it isn’t terrible- but that’s because it’s shutting down piece by piece. 

Replacement organ by replacement organ. 

The first one gets a choked sob from Tokiya, but as they continue, it turns into something akin to pained shrieks, only muffled by Tokiya’s hand over his mouth, gripping so hard that he’s sure he’s going to have half crescent depressions in his cheek. 

“I’m going to die.” Tokiya chokes out the realization. At least he knows that he really wasn’t dead- you couldn’t die _twice_ , right? “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I wanted-” Tokiya stops to break down into sobs, the pain completely overwhelming him. Tokiya’s eyes close, trying to console himself. There was no doubt that Masato would at least _check_ on him, before they left. At least for Ren and Ranmaru. They wouldn’t be stuck. Someone would check on them. 

Tokiya doesn’t register the soft clicking noise either time it happens- but he can’t ignore when he feels _hands_ on him. 

Tokiya’s eyes fly open, the sob getting caught in his throat, and he’s _shocked_ to see Ren over him. 

Everything except for this moment seems to be forgotten in Ren’s mind, because Ren’s immediate concern is Tokiya’s pain. “Where does it hurt, Toki?” Ren’s voice is firm, watching Tokiya’s face closely. 

Tokiya whimpers. His body, the parts of it that are his, are trembling with exertion as he tries to bring himself to speak. “I- my stomach-” 

That’s all Ren needs to pull up Tokiya’s shirt, stilling for just a moment when he sees the metal over Tokiya’s stomach, but he seems to understand. His hands run over the metal, searching for something. “There’s no charging port.” Ren scowls, his eyes narrowed. His expression softens, just a bit, when he looks at Tokiya’s face, but it’s still serious. “Toki, is there anywhere else that’s machine like this?” 

“My arm, and my legs.” 

Ren’s eyebrows knit together. “Which one happened first?”

“My shoulder.” Tokiya can hear his teeth grind together when Ren lifts him, enough to take off his shirt. Ren leaves the shirt on the floor as he picks up Tokiya. Once Tokiya is laying down on the bed, Ren only takes a second to quickly press the button on the top of Ranmaru’s sphere, before his attention goes to Tokiya’s shoulder. He seems to find a plate that lifts, and he’s quick to plug in the charging cable that had just been attached to himself to the port in Tokiya’s shoulder. 

Tokiya feels a jolt- a bit unpleasant, but not causing him nearly as much pain as he was in right now. The pain isn’t quick to dissipate, but Ren and Ranmaru don’t speak until Tokiya’s face finally relaxes, at least twenty minutes into being charged. Ranmaru hasn’t been able to hide the anger in his expression, though Ren manages to keep his face closed off, sitting next to Tokiya on the bed and petting through his hair. 

“How-?” Tokiya’s voice is hoarse. 

Ren cuts him off. “If you’re asking how I was able to help-” Ren’s voice is strained, though his hand doesn’t still in Tokiya’s hair. “Ran and I both have a setting where we can bypass our orders if we have reason to believe that your life is in danger. I just happened to react faster than Ran, but he couldn’t release himself while I was released. ...If you mean how I knew to plug you in-” Ren’s jaw tightens. “I have no idea what happened. I have some ideas, from what I heard, on how it happened- but when any of you is made of machine, Tokiya, you have to charge. They don’t just… work.”

Ranmaru is the one that steps forward, removing Tokiya’s pants. Tokiya’s still in too much pain to fight him, but he feels Ren tense, when the rest of his robotics are revealed. “What the fuck happened, Tokiya?” Ranmaru still seems angry, but there’s an air of disbelief. “When?”

Tokiya closes his eyes as he starts. “I don’t remember time very well. It passed… in a very strange way, when I was in there.” Tokiya’s voice sounds weak. “But it was the first time that the scientist had made you drop me off, Ren. I… remember everything in excruciating detail-” Tokiya had thought that you were supposed to be able to forget intense pain, but if he thought about it long enough, he could remember the pain well. “But they did it in bits and pieces. Any time they brought me back and I wasn’t acting right… it was a new piece.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell us?” Ren’s voice is horrified. 

“...I wasn’t sure what you knew and what you didn’t. The first time it happened I blamed you. And then I got to the point where I couldn’t handle it, if you knew- and if you didn’t, what was the point in telling you?”

“We would’a _helped_.” Ranmaru’s jaw grits. “Same way Masato helped his kid. We wouldn’t just let it keep happening.”

“It doesn’t matter. At this point, I managed to escape-”

“Not uninjured.” Ranmaru’s voice is low. Dangerous. “You were shot.”

“Speaking of-” Ren’s voice is quiet enough that Tokiya can’t pick out any exact emotions. “I’d like to look at it. I… imagine that your monologue yesterday happened while you were trying to take care of it, but I’d feel better if I saw it myself.”

“It’s on the robot arm.” Tokiya says dryly. 

“I know, Toki. I see the bandage.” Ren sighs. He shifts, his hand finally pulling back from Tokiya’s hair, and Ren gently unbandages the wound. Tokiya notices Ren’s frown. “It’s not very well stitched up, but I’ll settle with just bandaging it again.”

Tokiya frowns as well. He considers not speaking up, but in the end- he does. “I’m leaving tomorrow.” His voice is quiet. “I don’t expect you to come with me.”

“Oh. Yeah. That.” Ranmaru’s eyes narrow. “You said a lot ‘a fuckin’ things I wanted ‘t address, ‘n I would’a. If I wasn’t fuckin’ stuck in a ball. But I can’t even believe I need ‘t clear this up for you.” Ranmaru walks closer, and he reaches over, to grab Tokiya’s hand on his uninjured side, and Ranmaru pulls up his shirt. Ranmaru’s chest feels warm, but Tokiya knows what he wants him to do. 

“...Do you love me, Ran?”

A heart lights up, just above Tokiya’s fingers. It’s a full heart. 

“We’re not leaving you alone, Tokiya.” Ren’s voice is quiet, but this feels different- it’s enough to almost send a shudder through Tokiya. Tokiya had never seen Ren angry, but he thinks this might be the closest yet. “Things _are_ going to change. Ran and I are _never_ going to be off at the same time. Your charging takes priority- and you’re going to listen to us. Starting with-” Ren takes Tokiya’s chin in his hand, and while it is gentle, Ren’s expression still sends waves of nervousness through Tokiya. “I want you to repeat after me. _’I release my command, Ren.’_ ”

Tokiya’s voice is barely a whisper. “I release my command, Ren.”

Ren freezes for a moment, staring blankly ahead, and then he blinks quickly as he regains himself. “And one more time. _’I release my command, Ranmaru.’_ ”

Tokiya glances away from Ranmaru, though his hand is still pressed to Ranmaru’s chest. “...I release my command, Ranmaru.”

Ranmaru stills, his expression identical to Ren’s a moment ago, but when awareness returns to his eyes, his grip tightens on Tokiya’s hand in a tight squeeze. “Good.” Ren’s voice is still serious. 

“What did that do?” Tokiya’s voice is uncertain. It was unsettling- watching their empty expressions, even if it were only for a moment. 

“Y’can’t make us do anythin’.” Ranmaru grunts. 

“No more forcing us into default mode, or keeping us there, either. We have a few other commands you hadn’t figured out yet, but they aren’t important now. But we can’t properly watch over you if you have the capability of stopping us.”

“I’m sorry for a lot of things- but I was trying to keep you safe, too. And I’m not sorry for that. ...But I’m not sorry that I’m no longer in control of you, either. That… doesn’t feel right.” Tokiya’s eyebrows furrow and he looks away. “I feel like an idiot. Not figuring out that I should charge myself. This situation should have been avoided.”

“There’s a lot that should’a been avoided.” Ranmaru says flatly, and then he lets out a sigh deep enough to lower his shoulders. “We would’a helped you if we knew.”

“...Please understand.” Tokiya’s eyebrows pull in. “That it isn’t that I don’t want to trust you both, but in both the best and worst case scenarios, I believe that the facility made you. They gave me to you, after all. Or, gave you to me? I trust you now- but I had no way to tell what the both of you knew, and it was too risky to question you about it.”

“Why did you take us?” Ren’s voice is quiet and his eyes search Tokiya’s. “If you thought that we weren’t on your side.”

“I thought you _might not_ be.” Tokiya says tiredly. “But whether you were or weren’t truly on my side, I couldn’t leave you. I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to either of you, after I was gone. ...Because I was gone.”

They stay silent for a long moment, and then Ren finally frowns, standing up to go grab bandages. Tokiya stays still and quiet when Ren returns to rebandage the wound. Tokiya’s other hand has been lowered back down to the bed, and Tokiya chooses to close his eyes. 

“Go ‘t sleep, Toki.” Ranmaru mumbles. “We’ll be headin’ out tomorrow when we’re all charged up.” Ranmaru moves up, so that his thigh is pressed to Tokiya’s arm and his back is on the bed. Ren seems to settle on the ground, close to Tokiya’s head. Tokiya had just woken up, but perhaps it’s the lack of charge that keeps him exhausted because he does end up falling back asleep.

When he wakes up, Ranmaru is the only one in the room. He glances down at Tokiya’s face, and his voice drops into a mumble. “Ren’s out there talkin’ ‘t Masato ‘n Reiji. He’ll be back in a minute.”

Tokiya gives a stiff nod. 

“...This ain’t nothin’ like what they told us the outside was.” Ranmaru admits gruffly. “What was the outside like when you were livin’ in it?”

“It’s… hard to explain, because for me, my first thought would be ‘normal’, but clearly our definitions of that aren’t the same.” Tokiya sighs. “But typically we worked. There were quite a few different types of jobs, and I was actually in school. College. I was studying science, and then I got very sick, and then instead of dying I found myself in this facility. But other than that, life was full of free will. If you wanted to go out to spend time with your friends, you were free to do so. There are entertainment options, you work to feed yourself and keep your home because everything runs on money. You find a family, and you settle down. Most families have children, and then everything starts again.”

“Huh. You really think that’s still a thing? I dunno how long has passed, since you got sick.”

“I hope it still is. Humanity as I knew it certainly didn’t seem like it was on its way out.”

The door opens before they can continue speaking, and Ren enters carrying a satchel that Tokiya recognizes as one of his own from a very long time ago. Ren eyes Tokiya, and he walks closer, catching Tokiya’s hand- the one connected to his non-organic arm. 

“I’m going to try something.” Is Tokiya’s only warning before Ren’s index finger runs down the inside of Tokiya’s wrist. Ren gives a slightly aggravated sigh when nothing happens. 

“Ren?” Tokiya sits up, and Ren does let him. 

“I was hoping that you’d have a charge meter.” Ren holds out his hand, and he runs the index finger of his free hand down the inside of his wrist, and four blue LED bars show on his wrist. “I’m guessing that they hadn’t gotten to it yet… But I would rather have you not have one, compared to the alternative.”

“He’s been chargin’ for a long time.” Ranmaru assures. “He should be okay ‘t leave.”

“And you?” Ren’s eyebrow lifts. Ranmaru grunts, but he nods. Ren still reaches over to grab Ranmaru’s wrist and pull the same move, revealing four blue LED bars. “Good.”

“There’s something I should grab before we go.” Tokiya mumbles, fumbling to unplug himself. Ren helps him, but he does put his hand on Tokiya’s arm, just below his elbow. 

“Just stay there and tell me what you need.”

Tokiya resists the urge to sigh. “In the closet, there’s a box towards the top with some of my mother’s more expensive jewelry that she had forgotten to grab when we had to leave. We need something to sell, to get some sort of money.”

Ren raises an eyebrow, not fully understanding what Tokiya means, but when Ranmaru nods at Ren, Ren moves to the closet. Tokiya guesses that he’ll have to reexplain what he and Ranmaru had spoken about. It was still strange- even knowing that Ren and Ranmaru weren’t human, and seeing proof of it, they both looked and acted exactly like every human he had met. It was nice, because they’d blend in easily- but it proved some challenges. 

Like getting them adjusted to living with actual humans. It made him a bit nervous, admittedly, but he’d reassure himself with the knowledge that they were both extremely intelligent, and Ren was a very good charmer and Ranmaru was gruff enough that it may be mistaken as nothing more than a person’s distaste for other people. Tokiya doubted that they’d be taken to easily if it were discovered they weren’t human. 

Tokiya would need to hide himself, too. He was even more obvious than Ren and Ranmaru were. Ranmaru’s hand reaches out to rub Tokiya’s back when Tokiya’s anxiety spikes and he imagines it must show on his face. He gives a muted smile to Ranmaru, but Ranmaru clearly sees right through it. Ren returns, having put the jewelry into the bag he brought. Ren is holding something else in his hands, however, and it seems to be a food item. One of the ones he had brought. When he walks back to Tokiya, he shoves it in Tokiya’s hands. 

“Just because you need to charge doesn’t mean that’s the only energy your body needs. You’re still going to need to eat.”

Tokiya frowns, but he nods. Ren had shoved something that looked like a cereal bar into his hands, and Tokiya undoes the wrapper with the intention to eat it quickly. Neither man move while he eats. 

“Why are you so still?” Tokiya mumbles, a bit unnerved. Ren finally moves, but it’s only to take the chargers to slip them into his bag. 

“We’re conserving as much energy as we can.” Ren starts, but Ranmaru finishes. 

“In case we can’t get to a chargin’ place anytime soon. We dunno what we’re gonna be dealin’ with, ‘n charging is obviously real important.”

“...I know we can’t stay here. I know it’s… asking for trouble- but-”

“I don’t know where you’re going with this.” Ren cuts him off. “But I’m not entertaining any thought of you going anywhere alone.”

“We’re not stayin’ behind. You’re not gettin’ us off yer ass for a long fuckin’ time, Toki.” 

Tokiya quiets down. If he were being entirely honest, he wasn’t sure _what_ he was going to ask them to do. He just knew that he was nervous- because he wasn’t sure where they were actually going to go as it was. 

“We should go.” Ren says quietly. “Masa and I searched the house but we couldn’t find any type of map, or anything, so we’re just going to have to walk and walk quickly. I did give some of your food stash to Camus-” Ren’s eyes narrow at Tokiya. “Though I’m really concerned with just how much of it you had. ...I guess it’s too late to ask now how much you were eating of what we gave you.”

“I ate.” Tokiya promises softly. “I know you’re both angry about how I went about my… escape plan… but it was thought out.”

“Not well enough.” Ren says, his voice just a bit too sharp. He lets out an exhale. “You were hurt because you hadn’t thought past _us_ and that’s the problem we’re still facing.”

Tokiya quiets down, but Ren helps him out of the bed as Ranmaru gets out of his own side. Tokiya ends up by Ren’s side with Ranmaru hovering just behind him. Tokiya glances towards the closed door of his childhood room, and when he speaks, he speaks quietly. 

“You seem to be interested in continuing to move, too.” Tokiya mumbles. “Shouldn’t they be getting ready to head out, too?”

Ren shakes his head, but Ranmaru answers. “We’re buyin’ ‘em time. That bullet you got shot with has a short ranged tracker. They’re gonna assume that Masato, Reiji and their kid headed out with us, ‘n even if they don’t-”

“They’re likely going to try to find us first.” Ren says grimly. 

“Why us?” Tokiya’s eyebrows furrow, and it hits Tokiya when he catches the look Ren shoots him- or, more accurately, his shoulder. “Oh.”

“You’re already part way done.” Ranmaru’s voice holds barely concealed anger. Tokiya may even go so far as to say _rage_. “If you’re tellin’ the truth, ‘n that facility is the only thing that’s fucked up, the last thing they’re gonna want is for you to show up, part machine, and let everyone know who did it to you.”

“I see I missed something.” Ren says, glancing back at Ranmaru as they exit the house. 

“Accordin’ ‘t Toki, we’ve been lied to. Supposedly there’s a whole other world out ‘ere. Like there ‘r actual people ‘n not just wastelands and danger ‘n shit.”

“Well, for all of our sakes, I hope he’s right.” Ren sighs, glancing down at Tokiya. “For now, Toki, I need you to stay very close to us. If you start feeling like you can’t catch up, tell me.”

Tokiya nods, though he’s beginning to feel a bit nervous. “Are… Do you think they’re going to _actively_ pursue us?” 

“I don’t know.” Ren admits. “But because it isn’t off of the table, we need to move quickly.”

Tokiya learns rather fast that he’s much slower than both of them. He keeps up with them for about ten minutes, long enough to get out of the open, and then his metal knee stops bending right with his movements and his other metal leg feels heavier. He can’t hide it for long, though when Ren or Ranmaru ask him if he’s alright, he insists that he is and they don’t stop him so long as he’s keeping their pace. 

Until his knee doesn’t bend at all and he ends up falling. He curls his arm underneath him, and while he does scratch up his arm in the fall, it’s still less painful than it would have been should Ranmaru or Ren have tried to catch him by grabbing his injured arm. It doesn’t stop Ranmaru from nearly picking him up after he’s hit the ground. 

“I’m sorry, Toki, I should have pushed more.” Ren says softly, cradling Tokiya’s face. He feels that he may have scratched that up, too. “You’re wasting charge straining yourself as it is, and that’s my fault, baby. I’m going to carry you on my back, okay?”

“Isn’t that strain, too?”

“I’ll be fine.” Ren assures Tokiya quietly. “I can hold much more charge than you can.”

Tokiya is clearly unsure, but when Ren crouches down, Ranmaru silently urges Tokiya to get closer, to climb on Ren’s back. Tokiya wraps his arms loosely around Ren’s neck, and Ren’s hands find the underside of Tokiya’s thighs. 

“Aren’t I heavy?” Tokiya asks, uncertainly. 

“Not at all.” Ren reassures him. “I could carry Ran if I need to, and he’s far heavier than you’ll ever be.”

“Oi.” Ranmaru doesn’t sound all that offended. Ren turns his head to grin at him, though it’s got an edge to it that even Tokiya can see. But Ren must be telling Tokiya the truth, because he’s moving _faster_ than he had with Tokiya at his side. 

They move until nightfall, but even Ren and Ranmaru don’t feel safe until continuing until morning, and Tokiya was shivering so hard from the bone chilling wind that they didn’t feel comfortable enough to keep going. They find an alcove, similar to a shallow cave, and Ranmaru sits next to him and Ren sits across from him. 

“Go into sleep mode, Ren. I’m gonna charge ‘im ‘n watch out.”

Before Ren can even nod, Tokiya speaks. “What do you mean?”

“I’m gonna use my power ‘t charge you a ‘lil-”

“No.” Tokiya says quickly. “What? No.”

Ren’s expression turns grim, but Tokiya’s hope that Ren will finally join him on this is crushed when Ren speaks. “I did tell you that we have more charge than you do- but more importantly than that, if Ran or I run out of charge, we’re forced into default mode in our sleep cycle. If you run out, Toki, you’ll die.”

“Then at least wait until I’m closer- what if we can find somewhere first?” Tokiya’s voice is slowly becoming more panicked. Ranmaru tries to put his hand on Tokiya’s shoulder comfortingly, but it doesn’t help. 

“If Ran runs out of power and we find somewhere, we’ll charge him there.” Ren insists firmly. “You remember how long it took you to begin to feel better after your close call. What if it happens and we don’t find somewhere, and Ran is out of charge already? What if he can’t charge you enough?”

Tokiya’s jaw tightens, but Ranmaru’s hand on his shoulder changes its purpose, finding the panel to lift. Ren quiets down, to reach into the satchel to hand Ranmaru the wire. Tokiya can’t struggle, trapped between them and the wall of the alcove. “‘Sides.” Ranmaru comments gruffly. “You’re still shakin’, ‘n I’m a lot warmer when I’m plugged in, ‘t either end.”

Tokiya looks away as Ranmaru plugs one end of the wire into Tokiya’s shoulder and the other end into his wrist, but as much as he hates to admit it, Ranmaru is _very_ warm, and Tokiya can’t help but lean into Ranmaru. He hadn’t realized just how cold he was until it was beginning to fade. 

Tokiya stays silent for a long time, and he watches Ren’s chest move. He’s being obvious with his breathing, and Tokiya doesn’t mean to match it but when he does his eyes begin to feel heavier. 

When Tokiya wakes up, the wire is no longer connected to him. Ren is still in sleep mode, but Ranmaru is awake, looking outside of the alcove. When Ranmaru notices that Tokiya is awake, he sits up and reaches for Ren’s satchel. Ren begins to wake up, but Ranmaru just continues going for the food he had been going for and he hands it to Tokiya, and Tokiya takes it, but then lets it drop into his lap to grab Ranmaru’s wrist. He drags his index finger down the inside of Ranmaru’s wrist, and Ranmaru sighs. Tokiya frowns when nothing happens, but Ranmaru just offers Tokiya his other wrist. 

“Wrong one, babe.”

Tokiya repeats the action, but this time it works, and two bright blue LED bars show up. 

“Relax.” Ranmaru finally pulls his hand back. Ren, who has been awake enough to see the exchange, clearly understands Ranmaru’s point, because he slides his index finger down his own arm and shows Tokiya the four bars, though the top one is very faint. “See? I used a lotta my energy last night, but I fully charged you, too. If I don’t charge ya as much tonight, if we don’t find anywhere, I’ll be fine ‘til tomorrow night. We drain real slow.”

“You shouldn’t need to charge me tonight.” Tokiya says quietly, almost begrudgingly opening up the food wrapper. He had seen Ren watching it. 

“Better safe than sorry.” Ranmaru grumbles. 

“We should move soon. As soon as you eat.” Ren says gently. Ranmaru hands him back the charger to put in his satchel. 

That night, it had gotten colder. Ren was down to almost two bars, and Ranmaru was barely hanging on to his second, but Ren had taken Tokiya’s hands in his and he winces. “I don’t think there’s a choice, Ran.” Ren’s voice is soft. Tokiya wants to argue, but his teeth are chattering so hard that he knows that nothing he can say will be comprehensible. Ranmaru just nods, and he holds his hand out. Ren hands him the charger. 

They’re underneath a canopy of trees, but it hardly blocks out the wind. Ranmaru forces Tokiya to curl up, facing a tree, and Ranmaru plugs him in and curls up behind him. It’s warm, but tonight, it’s hardly enough. Ren’s eyebrows furrow, but then he leans against the tree and closes his eyes, going into sleep mode. Ranmaru’s hand presses against Tokiya’s chest, a soothing pressure. 

An attempted one, anyways. 

Tokiya isn’t sure when he falls asleep, but he does. When Tokiya wakes up, Ranmaru isn’t touching him, and the wire had been unplugged from his shoulder. Tokiya turns around, to search for Ranmaru, and his chest constricts when he sees the dark red sphere, the wire still connected. Tokiya watches Ren, but Ren is still in sleep mode, so Tokiya moves quickly and quietly. 

He feels on his shoulder, and he can feel two ports- a larger one and a smaller one, and he switches the wires on Ranmaru and plugs the larger end into his port. Ranmaru lights up, one flicker of light beneath the circular button, but Ren’s eyes open, too. Tokiya can’t turn enough to hide what he’s trying to do from Ren before Ren has moved up. He grabs Tokiya’s uninjured arm to hold him still, but he’s still gentle in unplugging Tokiya. 

“Toki-” Ren’s voice is stern, but Tokiya matches his harsh expression with a glare. 

“He told me he wouldn’t lose charge until tonight.”

“Last night was harsh. There was no way we could avoid it.” Ren’s scolding dies down, especially when Tokiya looks away from Ren, because Ren can see the hurt underlying the expression, and Ren pulls Tokiya into a tight hug. “He’s fine.” Ren coos. “He’s alright. We’re going to find somewhere that we can charge him and he’s going to be just fine, baby. He’s just asleep. He just wanted you to be alright, just like I do. Let’s go find somewhere to charge him, okay?” 

Tokiya swallows hard, but he nods. Ren picks up the sphere, and Tokiya assumes he’s going to put it in the satchel, but he only unplugs the wire and offers Ranmaru’s sphere to Tokiya. There’s an edge to Ren’s smile, but there’s still some softness behind it. “Hold on tight to him, okay? I think he’d feel better with you watching over him.”

Tokiya can’t help the short laugh, though he has to drag the heel of his hand over his eye as he carefully takes Ranmaru. He supposes he could easily take Ren’s tone condescendingly, but _Tokiya_ felt better, holding onto Ranmaru. When Ren gets Tokiya onto his back, Tokiya holds the sphere close to himself, cradled between his hand and the crook of his neck, and he feels Ranmaru gives a very low buzz. 

With how muted and short it is, Tokiya imagines that he must have either a very, very low battery charge, or Tokiya managed to give him some. Tokiya’s grip only tightens, just a bit more. 

Just as it’s beginning to get dark, Ren notices a building. He reluctantly sets Tokiya down when they’re just outside of the cabin, and he leaves Tokiya leaning against a tree, his face serious. 

“I’m going to check this place out. At the very least, it’s starting to get cold and if there isn’t anyone here, this will be a good place to stay tonight. If _anything_ happens, Ran has just enough to charge to help you.” Ren’s hand gently moves on top of Tokiya’s hand, curling Tokiya’s fingers just a bit tighter around Ranmaru. “I’m going to be right back.”

Tokiya nods, but he pulls Ranmaru into his chest. He sees a very dim light, and he assumes that means that Ranmaru is listening because that light had been off for some time as they travelled. Ren examines the outside of the cabin, first, but when he tries the door, it opens with a loud _creak_. Ren examines the inside long enough to assure himself that there isn’t anyone inside, and then he exits to get Tokiya. 

Tokiya enters. It’s clearly been abandoned for some time, empty of everything beyond large furniture pieces. It’s one large room, though in the corner there’s a hatch that leads to what Tokiya assumes is a basement, and Ren makes sure that he checks everything on the ground floor level again, and then his eyes land on the hatch. 

“I’m going to check on the hatch. Keep Ranmaru close.” There was just enough light in the sky to enter the window near Tokiya, to cast light over most of the room, but Tokiya imagines that the basement is going to be pitch dark, and a wave of fear courses through him. 

He hopes there isn’t anything down there- but he’s terrified that there is. Ren approaches the hatch, and he crouches to peer into the hatch. When he descends, he closes the hatch behind him. Tokiya hopes that Ranmaru can’t feel Tokiya’s grip on him because it must be painfully tight. There’s an ache in his chest from how hard he’s pressing Ranmaru to the center of it.

When the lights suddenly flicker on, Tokiya accidentally presses down on the button, and Ranmaru appears in front of him. 

Tokiya’s response is immediate. “Ah! I’m sorry, Ran! I didn’t mean-”

“Oi.” Ranmaru cuts him off. Ranmaru is standing in front of him protectively, though his eyes dart around as he takes in the cabin. It’s very shortly after that the hatch opens, but it’s only Ren. 

There’s a heavy layer of relief on Ren’s face. 

“I’m sorry, Toki. I hadn’t meant to scare you.” Ren says. He closes the hatch when he’s out of the basement, and Tokiya waits for Ren to scold him, for calling on Ranmaru, but he doesn’t. 

“I… overreacted. I’m sorry.” Tokiya’s voice is grim, but Ranmaru clicks his tongue. 

“ _Relax_. I’ve still got about a half ‘n hour left ‘fore I’m actually de- drained.” Ranmaru catches himself, but he keeps talking before Tokiya can really take in his original word choice. “‘N if there’s power, I’ll be fine.”

“It seems like this place has been abandoned, but we should take advantage of the power now, while we have it.” Ren reaches to dig through his bag, to take out both chargers. Ren’s eyes raise to Tokiya, first, but to Tokiya’s relief, Tokiya isn’t the one called out. “Lay down, Ran.” 

Ranmaru glances behind himself, at Tokiya, but he does. He takes a second to brush the bed, but while it certainly looks like it hasn’t been slept on in a while, it’s not too dirty to lay on, and Ranmaru does. Ren speaks as he plugs Ranmaru in. 

“Toki, you lay down, too.”

“Ren-”

“No arguments. Besides. If the power goes out before you’re charged, then one of us will have to charge you and we’ll be right back in the same position, yes?”

Tokiya’s eyebrows draw in, but Ranmaru uses the arm that isn’t connected to the cable to reach out for Tokiya and Tokiya finally gives in. Ren settles the charger so that Tokiya can curl against Ranmaru and charge at the same time. Ren sits down in the bed, though his hand moves to pet through Ranmaru’s hair. 

“Both of you can relax.” Ren says softly. “I’ll be right here to make sure nothing happens.”

“I will when you do.” Ranmaru grunts, but Tokiya realizes that Ranmaru is speaking to Tokiya. Tokiya sighs, but he lets his eyes close. 

He wasn’t freezing, or shivering at all, even. And while the bed certainly isn’t the most comfortable thing that he’s laid on, it’s far nicer than the ground. And while Ren wasn’t charging and it was enough to give Tokiya anxiety- he’s trying to force himself to settle for Ranmaru charging. 

Tokiya waits for a very long moment, and then he speaks softly. “How charged are you, Ren?”

Tokiya finally opens his eyes, though as soon as he glances up, he notices that Ranmaru is still awake. 

Ren does still answer him. “I’m still at one full bar.”

“That’s not a lot.” Tokiya winces, curling into Ranmaru just a bit more. 

“It’s going to be okay, Toki. I’m going to let you charge up and then I will.” He assures. 

“And if the power goes out?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“...I don’t like it.”

“What’s the difference?” Ranmaru grunts. “You were gonna make this trek alone anyways, right?”

Tokiya quiets down. Ranmaru huffs, and his hand moves from Tokiya’s hip to the side of his head, gently holding his head to Ranmaru’s side. 

“Sleep. Let us worry about this shit.”

Tokiya stays quiet, but Ranmaru continues to cradle his head. Ren’s hand moves from petting through Ranmaru’s hair to petting through Tokiya’s where Ranmaru’s hand isn’t.

It still takes him some time to finally fall asleep, but he can tell that Ranmaru doesn’t sleep until Tokiya does. 

When Tokiya wakes up, he’s not plugged in. Ranmaru still is, though Tokiya can tell that he’s awake, because Ranmaru is sat up and Tokiya’s head has been shifted to Ranmaru’s lap. He can feel Ren against his back, laying down. 

“Good news.” Ranmaru says gruffly. 

“The power didn’t go off, I take it.” It _was_ good news. He felt relieved, to see them both charging. 

“More ‘n just that. Ren went ‘t check around again, ‘fore I fell asleep. He caught sight of a town.”

Tokiya’s eyes widen, and he tries to sit up, though Ranmaru keeps his hand on Tokiya’s head, keeping Tokiya in his lap. “Really?”

“Really.” Ranmaru sighs, and his hand moves from Tokiya’s head to trail his fingers down Tokiya’s neck. “Ren wants ‘t stay ‘ere, ‘s long as we can keep power. ‘N then sorta slowly check out the town. Think he’s mostly relieved that we’re near food.”

“I’ve barely felt hungry.”

“You still need ‘t eat. ‘M gonna guess that you’re stressed out ‘n that’s really why you’re not hungry. You’re still human, Toki.”

Tokiya gets quiet for a long moment, and then he finally nods. “I hope this works.”

“We’ll make it.” Ranmaru assures him. This time, when Tokiya shifts, Ranmaru lets him. Tokiya’s head moves to rest on Ranmaru’s shoulders, and his slips under Ranmaru’s shirt. 

Tokiya’s voice is no more than a mumble. “Do you love me, Ran?”

Tokiya can just see the bright outline of the full heart, shining through the fabric of his shirt.


End file.
